Gas lighter



Jan. 6, 1970 M. QUERCIA 3,488,135

GAS LIGHTER Filed July 22, 1968 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 INVENTOR NA new, QuEM A ATTORNEY Y 002.4402 Lab-1p,-

M. QUERCIA GAS LIGHTER Jan. 6, 1970 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed July 22. 1968 INVENTOR: HARCEL 91422614 rmm tfi la-10,.

' ATTORNEY United States Patent 3,488,135 GAS LIGHTER Marcel Quercia, Paris, France, assignor to Flaminaire Marcel Quercia, Paris, France, a society of France Filed July 22, 1968, Ser. No. 746,688 Claims priority, application France, Aug. 2, 1967, 1 78 Int. Cl. F23q 1/0J, 2/16; F23]: /00

US. Cl. 431254 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE The invention relates to gas lighters comprising a flint and a flint wheel driven by a cylindrical roller which can be actuated by a finger and which, when rotated actuates a gas outlet valve.

It is an object of the invention to provide an improved gas lighter of the above type.

According to the present invention a gas lighter comprises a gas lighter including a body with flint holding means, a flint wheel mounted in the body for rotation in contact with a flint in said flint holding means, a roller rotatably mounted in the body and accessible from outside the body, means connecting the roller and the flint wheel whereby rotation of the roller by a finger in at least one direction in the body is imparted to the flint wheel to produce a shower of sparks from said flint, a gas jet adjacent said flint, gas supply means, and means for controlling the supply of gas from said gas supply means to said jet and including a control valve between the gas supply means and the jet, an actuating mechanism for the control valve including an actuating ring mounted co-axially with said roller, moveable axially with respect to the roller and mounted non rotatably in the body, co-operating screw threads on the actuating ring and the roller whereby rotation of the roller can cause axial movement of the actuating ring with respect to the roller, and means for opening and closing the valve in response to said axial movement of the actuating ring.

Preferably said means connecting the roller and the flint wheel comprise a one-way clutch between said roller and said flint wheel whereby the roller and flint wheel rotate together in the body when the roller is driven in one direction in the body and whereby the roller rotates alone when driven in the opposite direction.

The invention will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIGURES l and 2 are large-scale diagrams, partly in axial section and partly in elevation, of parts of a gas lighter according to the invention, showing the lighter when it is out and when it is lit, respectively;

FIGURE 3 is a section along the line III-III in FIG- URE 1;

FIGURE 4 is a diagram, partly in axial section and partly in elevation, of part of a modified gas lighter, and

FIGURE 5 is a section along the line V-V in FIG- URE 4.

Referring to FIGURES 1 to 3, a gas lighter comprises a body having a holder for a flint 1 and a flint wheel 2 driven by a cylindrical roller 3 which can be actuated by a finger. When the roller is rotated it also actuates a gas outlet valve 4 connecting a gas supply reservoir with a burner jet 24. Part of the circumference of roller 3 projects into a slot 5 formed in a corner of a casing 6 of the lighter body and is thus accessible from outside the body.

The flint wheel 2 is fixed to a shaft 7 which is rotatably mounted in the lighter body.

The roller 3 is mounted rotata-bly on the shaft 7, but is prevented from sliding on the shaft 7 by part of the edge of groove 5. The roller 3 is connected to the shaft 7 through a one way clutch 10, 12.

Mounted freely on the shaft 7 at one end of the roller 3 is an actuating ring 8 forming part of a mechanism for controlling the gas outlet valve 4.

The ring 8 and roller 3 are formed with complementary screw threads 21a, 21 respectively, and the end of ring 8 remote from the screw thread 21a bears on a lever 9 which controls the opening of the gas outlet valve 4 and which also prevents the ring from rotating in the lighter body.

As a result, when the roller 3 is rotated to drive the wheel 2 through the one way clutch so as to produce a shower of sparks, the roller 3 comes unscrewed from ring 8, which is moved axially against the lever 9 to open the gas outlet valve 4 (see FIGURE 2).

When the roller 3 is rotated in the opposite direction, it is screwed into ring 8, which is moved away from the lever 9, which in turn allows the gas outlet valve to close.

The clutch 10, 12 ensures that the roller 3 and wheel 2 rotate as a unit to produce a shower of sparks only when roller 3 is driven in the direction in which the valve 4 is caused to open. When roller 3 is rotated in the opposite direction to close the valve 4 the wheel 2 remains at rest.

The mechanism of the one way clutch is housed in an axially extending cavity 11 in roller 3 around shaft 7.

In the embodiment shown in FIGURES 1 and 2, the one-way clutch is of the ratchet dog clutch type, and comprises a ring 10 which is mounted on shaft 7 so as to be able to slide axially thereon while being constrained to rotate with the shaft. The ring 10 has saw teeth 12 around one of its ends which can engage with complementary saw teeth on the roller 3 at the inner end of the cavity 11.

The cavity 11 also contains a helical spring 13 encircling the shaft 7. One end of the spring 13 bears against one end of the cavity 11 and the other end bears against the ring 10 and pushes its saw teeth 12 into engagement with the matching teeth formed at the other end of the cavity.

When roller 3 is driven in a clockwise direction as viewed in FIGURE 3, its saw teeth drive ring 10 in the same. direction. When roller 3 is driven in the opposite direction, the sloping surfaces of its saw teeth repel the teeth 12 of ring 10, which slides on shaft 7 and compresses spring 13 with the result that ring 10, and consequently shaft 7 and wheel 2 do not follow the rotation of roller 3.

Any other type of one way clutch could of course be utilised in other embodiments.

In the embodiment shown in FIGURES 4 and 5 a roller 30 rotates on a plain bearing on a shaft 7a. The cylindrical surface of the bearing is formed with cam surfaces 14 either on the side of the roller 30 or on the side of the plain bearing, the cam surfaces defining recesses containing balls or rollers 15, which, when roller 30 is rotated clockwise in FIGURE 5, jam between the cam surfaces 14 and the roller 30 so that roller 30 rotates integrally with shaft 7a, whereas when roller 3c is rotated in the opposite direction, the balls or rollers 15 become loose and release shaft 7a from roller 30.

In the embodiments of FIGURES 1 to 3 the roller 3 comprises a skirt 3a defining a recess which the actuating ring 8 enters as the roller 3 is screwed into it and from which ring 8 emerges when the roller 3 is screwed out of it. The ring 8 has a cylindrical surface which projects into a slot 5a provided in the lighter case -6 as an extension of the slot 5 occupied by the roller 3. The cylindrical surface of the ring 8 is made clearly visible by a brightlycoloured coating 16, which can be applied to the ring 8 in the form of paint or enamel or as a plastics sleeve, and the position of the end of said cylindrical surface in the slot 5a provides a visual indication of the extent of opening of the valve 4.

The ring 8 comprises a narrow axial extension 8a having two parallel flats 17 and 18 on either side of the axis of shaft 7 and parallel to the axis of the shaft 7 (see FIGURE 3). One end of the lever 9 is formed as a fork with two arms 9a, 9b which engage the flats 17 and 18 so that the extension 8a is prevented from rotating in the body. The extension 8a terminates at its inner end in a face 8b formed with a knife-edge 19 extending diametrically with respect to the ring 8 on either side of the extension 8a, so as to act as a pivot for the lever 9.

A cap 20 is fixed on the narrow axial extension 8a of ring 8, so that the cap can slide behind the walls of the case 6 when ring 8 slides along shaft 7, so that the cap 20 closes groove 5a when ring 8 enters the skirt 3:: of the roller 3.

In the embodiment shown in FIGURES l and 2, the roller 3 consists of two parts 3 and 3b which are fixed together after the ring and the spring 13 have been put in position.

The skirt 3a forms the outer peripheral wall of an annular recess whose inner peripheral wall is provided with the screw thread 21, complementary to the thread 21a on the ring 8. The threads 21 and 21a are of the multistart type, so that the pitch can be sufliciently large.

In the embodiment shown in FIGURE 4, roller 30 is in one piece having a thread 21b in the extension of skirt 3d, in which ring 8c is screwed by means of a complementary peripheral thread 210. The clutch is housed in a bore in roller 3c formed co-axially with the thread 21b.

The lever 9 controlling the gas outlet valve can be mounted in various ways in the lighter so as to actuate a valve rod of the valve 4, either by pulling or by pushing against the action of a return spring.

FIGURE 1 shows diagrammatically an arrangement in which the lever 9, at its end opposite the forked end which embraces the narrow extension 8a of ring 8, bears on a pivot 22 fixed in the lighter body, and an intermediate point on lever 9 bears against a head 23 on a screw threaded rod controlling the valve 4. The head comprises a nut which can be adjusted in position along the rod and which has a locknut 23a.

When the ring 8 raises the lever 9 the lever 9 pivots on the fixed pivot 22 and raises the head 23, of the valve rod, so that the valve 4 opens and allows gas to escape, through an axial duct formed in the rod in known manner, and through the burner jet 24 connected to the axial duct and terminating adjacent the flint 1 in the neighbourhood of the spark produced by the friction of wheel 2 against flint 1.

I claim:

1. A gas lighter including:

(a) a body with flint holding means;

(b) a flint wheel mounted in the body for rotation in contact with a flint in said flint holding means;

(c) a roller rotatably mounted in the body and accessible from outside the body;

(d) means connecting the roller and the flint wheel whereby rotation of the roller by a finger in at least one direction in the body is imparted to the flint wheel to produce a shower of sparks from said flint;

(e) a gas jet adjacent said flint;

(f) gas supply means; and

(g) means for controlling the supply of. gas from said gas supply means to said jet and including:

. 4 (i) a control valve between the gas supply means and the jet, I (ii) an actuating mechanism for the control valve including an actuating ring mounted co-axially with said roller, moveable axially with respect to the roller and mounted nonrotatably in the body, v v (iii) co-operating screw threads on.the actuating ring and the roller whereby rotation of the roller can cause axial movement of the actuating ring with respect to theroller, (iv) means for opening and closing the valve in response to said axial movement of the actuatg ring.

2. The lighter of claim-1 ,wherein said means connecting the roller and the flint wheel comprises a one-way clutch betweensaid roller and-said flint wheel whereby the roller and flint wheel rotate together in the body when the roller is driven in one direction in the body and whereby the roller rotates alone when driven in the opposite direction.

3. The gas lighter of claim 1 in which said flint wheel is fixed to a shaft rotatably mounted in said body, said roller being rotatably mounted on said shaft but prevented from moving axially thereon, one-way clutch means connecting said roller and said shaft, said actuating ring being freely mounted on said shaft to permit axial movement of the ring on the shaft and rotation of the shaft within the ring, said means for opening and closing said valve comprising a lever pivotally mounted in said body and connected at one end to the actuating ring and at the other end to the valve, said lever preventing rotation of said actuating ring in said body.

4. The gas lighter of claim 3 wherein said one way clutch means is held in an axially extending cavity in said roller around said shaft.

5. The gas lighter of claim 1 wherein said roller comprises a skirt formed at one end of the roller, and providing a recess to receive said actuating ring, and said body includes a slot through which the actuating ring can be viewed to determine the extent to which the actuating ring projects axially from said recess, and hence the extent of opening of said valve.

6. The gas lighter of claim 5 in which said actuating ring projects into said slot so as to be easily visible.

7. The gas lighter of claim 3 wherein said actuating ring comprises a narrow axial extension having parallel flats on opposite sides of the axis of said shaft and extending parallel to said axis, said lever comprising one end formed a a fork which bridges said narrow extension of the actuating ring with the two arms of the fork in engagement with said flats, to prevent rotation of the actuating ring in said body.

8. The gas lighter of claim 7 wherein a face of said actuating ring at one end of said narrow axial extension is formed with a diametrically extending knife edge to engage said forked end of said lever and provide a pivot between said lever and said actuating ring.

9. The gas lighter of claim 6 wherein said actuating ring is formed with a cap extending axially therefrom on the side remote from said roller, said cap projecting into said slot to occupy the portion thereof not occupied by the actuating ring.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 3,224,235 12/1965- Meylan 431-254 3,228,215 1/1966 Racek 431254 X EDWARD G. FAVORS, Primary Examiner US. Cl. X.R. 

